HBO confirmed as much Thursday afternoon, noting that any and all Game of Thrones spinoffs would be subject to the quality of its four competing scripts. Those pitching top-secret Game of Thrones projects include Skull Island writer Max Borenstein, A Knight’s Tale scribe Brian Helgeland, Kingsman writer Jane Goldman and Mad Men alum Carly Wray, the latter two of which are working with Martin himself.

Current Game of Thrones executive producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss will executive produce any new series (one or more of which could be series or mini-series), while HBO offered:

Weiss and Benioff continue to work on finishing up the seventh season and are already in the midst of writing and preparing for the eighth and final season. We have kept them up to date on our plans and they will be attached, along with George R. R. Martin, as executive producers on all projects. We will support them as they take a much-deserved break from writing about Westeros once the final season is complete. […]

There is no set timetable for these projects. We’ll take as much or as little time as the writers need and, as with all our development, we will evaluate what we have when the scripts are in.

In the meantime, Season 7 remains on track for a July 16 premiere. What is dead may really never die.